PERFORMANCE

EPA Economy, miles per galloncity/highway/average

20/28/26

0-60 MPH

8 seconds

1/4 Mile (E.T.)

86 seconds @ 17 mph

Top speed

135 mph

* Programmed port fuel injection

Acura has targeted the empty-nesters or the post-family baby boomers
as prime candidates for its new-last-year CL lineup. The CL also fares
well with the value-minded car shopper, and many are surprised at how
much car they get for the money. It comes as the four-cylinder 2.3CL,
and our tester this week, the 3.0CL.

OUTSIDE - The CL is the first Acura model designed, manufactured and
assembled in this country at the company's various Ohio operations. It
uses crisp, hard edges offset by smooth, soft lines, and while its nose
looks somewhat like the front of the new Honda Accord Coupe, the rest of
its shell, especially the "bobbed-tail" treatment, creates a styling
niche of its own. Thin strips of chrome surround the side windows and
new grille, and last year's matte-black extensions under the side sills
and bumpers are now painted body-color. The CL's trunk can swallow over
17 cubic feet of cargo, with a very low liftover height, and amazingly,
there is no lock cylinder in the trunk lid. New this year are brightly
finished alloy wheels with 205/55R16 Michelin performance tires.

INSIDE - Inside the CL is all the luxury an Acura buyer expects. The
standard upholstery is a durable Moquette cloth, though the CL Premium
package adds leather. Our car had the cloth, but a leather-wrapped
steering wheel and shift knob, along with simulated woodgrain trim on
the dash and door panels, are standard on all models. Large, thickly
bolstered front bucket seats are comfortable and wide, and on 3.0 CL
models, the driver's seat is powered eight ways. The driver's seat also
automatically powers forward when the seatback is folded, giving easier
access to the rear seating area. A rear fold-down armrest provides a
pass-through from the trunk, and new this year are remote audio controls
on the steering wheel. Standard 3.0CL features include automatic climate
control, power windows, door locks and outside mirrors (also heated),
lighted vanity mirrors, rear window defroster, cruise control, HomeLink
transmitter, keyless entry, anti-theft alarm, Bose-brand CD stereo
system and a power glass moonroof.

ON THE ROAD - The 3.0 model is powered by a 3.0 liter V6 engine with
dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. This all-aluminum
lightweight V6 uses a 60-degree V-angle, versus the 90-degree angle of
previous Acura engines. It needs to be this narrow, however, so it can
fit inside the snug engine bay. It produces 200 horsepower and 195 lb-ft
of torque on regular unleaded gasoline, and delivers its power to a
front-wheel-drive transaxle. It uses Honda's patented VTEC (Variable
Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) valve train technology, a
system that uses an extra set of camshaft lobes to give both low-rpm
efficiency and high-rpm power. The system works well and other
manufacturers have begun using their own versions of the system in their
production cars. Mated to this is a smooth-shifting four-speed automatic
transmission with Grade Logic, a system that determines whether the car
is going uphill or down, then automatically changes to the best possible
gear.

BEHIND THE WHEEL - Both CL models ride atop ultra-rigid unit-body
construction with four-wheel double wishbone suspension that uses coil
springs, gas-pressurized tube shocks and stabilizer bars front and rear.
On 3.0 models, the front suspension is mounted to a rubber-isolated
subframe to reduce noise, vibration and harshness. Double wishbone
suspension does an excellent job of keeping the tires in constant
contact with the road and the CL's suspension in particular uses
unequal-length transverse links to help it tracking smoothly through
corners along with many other benefits too numerous to list here.
Variable-assist rack-and-pinion steering is no longer the wonder-system
it was just a few years ago, but the CL's version is torque-sensitive,
which varies the amount of power boost based on friction between the
tires and the roadway. Three-channel, four-wheel disc brakes with an
anti-lock braking system (ABS) are standard.

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